Canoe Polo Championships take on the KZN waters

Paddlers from Dabulamanzi Canoe Club took part in the competition that saw some of them be part of winning teams.

June 19, 2024

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The 2024 South African Canoe Polo Championships, took place in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) in early May and is said to have been a successful event.

Gauteng U18A men’s team in action defending their goal post

Dabulamanzi Canoe Club paddlers enjoyed the experience as they played against top players in other provinces and managed to achieve a top finish position. The Gauteng men’s open A-team included club members Kyle Hardy, Ruhan Marx and Etienne Pieterse, while Schalk van der Merwe and Emile van Heerden played in the B-team. The U18 boys
A-team included Finn Idicula-Strom and Reenan and Rouke Loubser.

Dani Afonso splashes into the water after the games.

The Gauteng women’s open team included Elna Bets and Dani Afonso while in the U18 girls A-team players Mia Verster, Anina Bisschoff and Vanda Strydom enjoyed their challenge.

Also read: Dabs paddlers take the win at at the Vaal River Canoe Marathon

Canoe polo is described as a fun and exciting sport, mixing physicality, skill and fitness. A sport described as a mixture of rugby, water polo, canoeing and basketball as the players paddle in specialised boats which allow them to pop up if they fall over, while tackling for the ball with paddles, and shooting goals into the netball type net, or blocking with their paddles and racing up and down the course.

Gauteng U18 Girls A-team Sara-Lee Bottger, Mia Verster, Abigail Bottger, Hanna Du Preez, Vanda Strydom and Anina Bisschoff.

There were 90 athletes in 16 teams representing Gauteng, Western Cape and KZN as they vied for national titles which made for some exciting games. Gauteng team was represented by a number of different schools in the East Rand, West Rand, and central suburbs of Johannesburg, and further afield – including Parys and North West University.

The Gauteng men’s team, ultimately claimed the senior men’s title, fighting hard to retain their first place from 2023 against a greatly improved Western Cape side while the women’s Gauteng A-team also managed to fight back from two goals down, with a series of excellent goals, to win by two points in the last minutes of their match. Gauteng women’s open team also made a huge come back, after the first two games they settled into the groove and gained confidence making it to the finals where they finished second having played with some amazing heart.